Karajan Leaves Berlin Philharmonic

By SERGE SCHMEMANN, Special to The New York Times

Published: April 25, 1989

Correction Appended

BONN, April 24—
Citing his health and a long-festering dispute over his role, Herbert von Karajan resigned today after 34 years as chief conductor and artistic director of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

The announcement by the West Berlin government marked the end of a relationship that had been both enormously acclaimed and, especially in later years, increasingly quarrelsome.

Mr. Karajan, who turned 81 this month, has sometimes been described as the greatest living conductor, and the Berlin Philharmonic has been called the world's finest orchestra. But both were also strong and stubborn forces, and their repeated clashes, along with Mr. Karajan's worsening back problems and other infirmities, had contributed in recent years to a growing sense in West Berlin that he had overstayed his welcome. 'I Am Unable to Carry On'

Mr. Karajan resigned in a letter to Anke Martiny, the new West Berlin Minister for Culture, who had flown to Salzburg to discuss the conductor's demand that West Berlin specify his responsibilities under the vague lifetime contract they had signed in 1955 and never revised.

In the letter, he wrote that medical tests in recent weeks ''have proved to me that I am unable to carry on my duties as I would want.'' In addition, he wrote, he had asked both Miss Martiny and her predecessor for a written understanding about his duties and rights, and ''once again I have not received an answer.''

Miss Martiny, a member of the environmentalist Green Party, said in a statement that she respected Mr. Karajan's decision, but noted only the health reasons.

''Berlin thanks Mr. von Karajan for many years of superb and constantly successful work,'' she said. ''Mr. von Karajan did a great deal for the global reputation of Berlin and for the city's musical life. We hope that Herbert von Karajan will still find his way to Berlin in retirement and that his Berlin friends will have the opportunity to say farewell and to thank him on the podium of the Berlin Philharmonic.'' Other Work to Continue

Mr. Karajan could not be reached for comment, but a secretary at his office in Salzburg said his decision applied only to the Berlin Philharmonic, and that he would carry on with other concerts and recordings.

There was no immediate word on the fate of the concerts Mr. Karajan had already scheduled with the Berlin Philharmonic, which included concerts in West Berlin on May 8 and 9 and the first concert by the orchestra in East Berlin on May 30. The orchestra's management and musicians issued no statement, and were reported to be holding an emergency meeting.

There was also no immediate indication of who would succeed Mr. Karajan. Jorg von Jena, a music critic in West Berlin, said there were rumors that the orchestra might seek a collective artistic directorate, and that names being considered included Seiji Ozawa, Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, James Levine and Bernard Haitink.

The discord of Mr. Karajan's last years with the orchestra was reflected in some of the reactions to his resignation. Miss Martiny's colleagues among the Greens, who entered the government in a coalition with the Social Democrats last month, declared they were not sad to see him go. 'Please That He's Leaving'

''His retirement comes too late,'' said Sabine Weissler, a spokesman on culture for the party, which is known in West Berlin as the Alternative List. ''The Philharmonic had stopped developing. It's musical progress has been reduced. We're pleased that he's leaving - it's better for all sides.''

In recent years, Mr. Karajan's highly publicized spats with the Berlin Philharmonic began to obscure what had been an extraordinarily creative relationship. Mr. Karajan is a perfectionist who drove his musicians to the highest standards of their craft, and his concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic returned an aura of cultural glamour to the former capital of Germany.

In December 1980, celebrating his silver jubilee with the orchestra, Mr. Karajan spoke of his love for his players and declared that he thought of them ''as a family.''

But in ensuing years this family fell to increasingly bitter quarreling, at whose root was a struggle for control between a stubbornly authoritarian conductor and an orchestra proud of its 100-year tradition of self-government and independence. It had been founded in 1882 by musicians who had rebelled against a domineering director, and their successors nurtured the notion that they were the ultimate arbiters of musical excellence. Tug of War Over Clarinetist

The conductor and the orchestra locked horns in 1983, when the musicians resisted accepting a clarinetist Mr. Karajan had chosen, 23-year-old Sabine Meyer. An infuriated Mr. Karajan then canceled an engagement with the Berlin Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival and instead conducted its archrival, the Vienna Philharmonic.

As the clashes intensified, the West Berlin Senate, the city government, became ever less patient with the autocratic director, and with what he saw as limited authority over an orchestra of which he was the nominal artistic director.

Critics noted that while his health was obviously deteriorating, he seemed to be canceling performances with the Berlin Philharmonic more often than other engagements.

Correction: April 27, 1989, Thursday, Late City Final Edition An article on Tuesday about the resignation of Herbert von Karajan as conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra misstated the political affiliation of Anke Martiny, West Berlin's new Culture Minister. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party, not the Green Party.